Agroforestry is the practice of integrating food production with trees.

Agroforestry duplicates what works in a natural forest ecosystem: interplanting food crops with nitrogen-fixing and fruit-producing trees maximizes food diversity and niche micro-climates.

This works especially well in our subtropical climate where food can be produced in different vertical realms; the understory, midstory, and canopy levels. Although agriculture is traditionally only conceptualized in the horizontal plane, “stacking” your agro-design duplicates what works in a natural forest system and produces a lot of delicous produce while strengthening the whole system´s resistance to fungus and insect pests.

In permaculture terms, a planned agroforestry system designed for food production and replicating a natural forest is called a Food Forest.

At Finca La Fé we implement agroforestry practices to maximize our organic coffee production. We also have an ever-expanding Food Forest.

organic, shade grown coffeeCamila harvesting coffee

Chirimoya, aguacate, and Chilwacán (3 fruiting trees) growing under the canopy of a nitrogen-fixing Guaba tree

Coffee growing under the shade of a dying aguacate. The dying tree provides a trellis for the climbing Granadilla vine and additional shade for the Naranjilla in the foreground.